


Painted Black

by Rosemar (Rosemar_Darkling)



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Kingdom Hearts III Spoilers, M/M, Prose Poem, Sad, Songfic, Wishful Thinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 18:36:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21184097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosemar_Darkling/pseuds/Rosemar
Summary: A look at the relationship (as I see it) between Sora and Riku through the lens of "I Just Paint it Black" by Andy Black. Minor spoilers to every KH game including 3.





	Painted Black

When they were kids, he and Sora would explore the islands looking for adventure. They dreamed that every shadowy corner would hide a monster they could kill and be heroes. They sparred with their wooden swords on the sand until the tide gathered around their ankles. Sora with his smile and laugh, Riku with his serious demeanor. 

A long time ago, a boy left the islands for good. The first one ever to go to the outside world, and Riku wanted to follow. This world was just too small. How far would one raft take them? He didn't know and he didn't care, if it took them even as far as the nearest world and left them stranded he'd be content.

_//Don't you know? We're still gold.  
Just another day we made mistakes._\\\ 

He felt the storm before it arrived. A clawing darkness at his heart. 

“The door has opened. We can go to the outside world!” 

He wasn't afraid of the dark, he reached out his hand to Sora. The two of them would tumble through the shadows together and come out the other side. Just the two of them, with Kairi to follow after. 

The darkness gathered at his feet, like the waters had before. They didn't need a raft, they would swim if they had to. Swim through the black beside each other. Sora reached for his hand, and then all faded away.

_//Face the rain, Don't walk away.  
There's another chance to set it straight._\\\ 

He was certain he'd felt Sora grab his hand, certain his friend had followed him through the ice-cold abyss. But when he awoke he was alone. He shouted out Sora's name and his voice was swallowed by the sound of the rising falls below the ruined castle. 

Within he met the witch who lived there, this Hollow Bastion. Maleficent was her name, and she commanded the darkness that had ferried him safely from his doomed home. She saw something in him, a talent for a blade and a destiny that would further her plans. He agreed under one condition.

“Help me find Kairi and Sora.” 

_//It's not too late to turn back home. And we were never meant to be alone. You know we've got each other.\\\_

The Islands were gone, their star blinked out with so many others, swallowed by the Heartless. Maleficent controlled them to a degree, but they were animals at core, primal and ravenous. They devoured the hearts of the weak, and the worlds of the weak. But Riku wasn't weak; neither was Sora, that's how he knew his friend was okay. 

There was one chance, when the Princesses of Heart were gathered the Keyblade Master could open the door to Kingdom Hearts and change the world. The witch told him all this, because Riku had the markings of the one who could be the Master. 

Riku smiled, he already knew. He had a secret. 

_//It's not too late for two lost souls. We're not the only ones to lose control. But we're in this together, yeah._\\\ 

When he was still small, he met a stranger on the beach. He knew at once the man was from another world. The way he walked, the way he carried himself, it was nothing like the people he knew. 

Riku's instinct was right, and the man saw the same thing in Riku that the Witch saw: potential. And the man granted him a gift, for the man was the former Keyblade Master. 

“In your hands take this key; and so long as you have the makings, then by this simple act of taking; it's wielder you will one day be.” 

The Keyblade was his destiny, his path. Sora was holding onto it for now, but Riku would take it back soon. He'd return Kairi's heart and change the world. He'd make a new world where the Islands weren't isolated, a world where he and Sora could have the adventures they'd always wanted. Where he went Sora would follow, just like it was before. 

_//Every time you walk away. I lose the one I need to save.  
I just paint it black. Like starting over._\\\ 

He wasn't sure when or why it had changed between them. Maybe it was when he saw Sora laughing and talking with those to weirdos, barley caring that he was right there. Little concern for finding Kairi.  
Even when Kairi's heartless body was laying next to him on the deck, he was more worried about those two clowns. 

Or maybe that was just the last straw, maybe it started much sooner then that. When Kairi became their friend she would play the role of a princess they were saving from monsters, and fighting over her affections. No matter what he did, Kairi always seemed to favor Sora over him, and he her. When did he stop thinking he was jealous of Sora, and start thinking he was jealous of Kairi?

The more he called on the dark for power, the stronger his feelings became. He wanted to prove he was better, that he was the kind of person that Sora would admire again. And in the new world it would be just the two of them again, just the two of them. 

_//Every time I lose a fight, And I'm dying to be right._  
I just paint it black. So you remember:  
This won't last forever, It's just another night.\\\

He had the Keyblade, he even had those walking doorstops Sora called friends. Now all he had to do was wait. Soon the door would open, the world would change, and Sora would never leave him again. He knew what it was like to be abandoned now, these clowns weren't his friends, they just followed the Keyblade wielder.  
Sora came and took back the Key, it made no sense. They clashed as they had as kids. But back then Riku always won. This time, he lost. How? His friends were his power?

“Are you saying my heart is weaker then his?” He demanded the shadowy figure who seemed to know so much. 

“For that instant, it was.” 

But he could fix that, all he needed was more power, more darkness. It had gotten him this far, why should he back off now. His heart was strong, he had no fear of the Heartless. Sora still had to climb the castle, when he got to the top it would be time for round two. Riku would prevail then. 

_//Same old song. We sang along  
Never knowing how it's gonna end._\\\ 

The shut the door to Kigdom Hearts together, Sora on the side of Light and Riku on the side of dark. He'd lost his body to to the darkness, and now his heart was there as well. It might be too late for him now, but Sora and Kairi were safe. Together. He sighed as the door shut, maybe it was better this way. He was dark, and Sora with that innocent smile was light, how could they ever be together? 

His lust for power had cost him everything, even Sora. He was alone now, and he would stay that way. He would never put Sora at risk again, even if it meant they'd never be together again. The emptiness was vast and the silence deafening. 

Then there was a voice in the emptiness, and Riku was led to Castle Oblivion. He fought against the darkness he once wielded, trying to banish it from his heart and be like Sora, to no avail. Even as he gained control over it again, he could never shake it fully. Ansem was still in his heart, too weakened to ever gain control over him again, but a constant pull at his thoughts. A lure in the shadows, the bait on the hook. 

_//I am here with love my dear  
We can let it go and start again._\\\ 

Riku put his hands on the glass separating him from Sora. His friend would sleep until Naminé could rebuild his memories. His friend had been caught in a plot to make him a slave of this unknown organization. Fate had brought Riku here as well, but he'd been too late. He shook his head. 

“Sleep well Sora.” When he woke Riku would have resolved everything, and they could go home together. His path was set. His road was straight ahead. 

“You mean the twilight road to nightfall?” DIZ asked. 

“No. The way to dawn.” 

_//In my heart we share a home. And all the years that we have grown  
You know we've got each other._\\\ 

Tracking down the Organization proved more difficult then it seemed. They acted in the shadows to spread the Heartless but they didn't seem to be after the hearts of the Worlds like Ansem had been. No, they seemed only to desire to spread suffering. 

Their base was on a world far into the limits of the realm, on the outer edges of the thin band of Twilight that divided the realms of darkness and light. It seemed impossible to even enter. 

Sora still hadn't woken up, some of his memories were out of reach. His nobody was holding them hostage, holding his friend hostage. Riku drew his sword and followed the trail. 

_//So hear me out and don't give up. The world is ours and with our love,  
We're in this together, yeah._\\\

Riku and Roxas clashed, he didn't know how many times. Riku was certain they'd fought a few times, but his memory was clouded by the shadows. Riku's blade met the twin Keyblades of the other; two Key's that belonged to his friend. 

Riku fell, the nobody was stronger then Sora. Could someone without a heart will one into being? Riku felt the same determined power coming off Roxas, that same look in his eyes. 

“Come on Sora, don't tell me you're giving up already?” 

“Get real! I'm wining this!” Sora's voice said, coming out of Roxas, much to the blond's surprise.

That was all the proof Riku needed. Everything his friend needed to be whole again was trapped inside this boy, and he would get it back no matter what it cost him. Riku called on the powers of darkness to envelop and strengthen him.

_//Every time you walk away, I lose the one I need to save  
I just paint it black. Like starting over._\\\ 

They'd moved Sora to a place called Twilight Town, a forgotten place on the border of the darkness. Lost in the shadows, far from the thoughts of any and all who still had ways to travel between the worlds. Roxas subsumed slowly into Sora once again, his friend was whole and awake. 

But he didn't greet his friend, didn't throw his arms around him and tell him how sorry he was. Riku couldn't even look in the mirror anymore, his eyes couldn't lie. The darkness had consumed his form, he was Ansem now. He still controlled his actions, but all his dreams of going home and being with Sora were dashed once more. 

Sora ran off to finish the fight he'd started, putting a stop to the organization's plans to use Kingdom Hearts for their own evil purposes. Riku would watch from the shadows, aiding him when he could, but never stepping out to be seen. The way he looked now, Sora would see him as an enemy, and it would serve him right. 

_//Every time I lose a fight, And I'm dying to be right_  
I just paint it black. So you remember:  
This won't last forever, It's just another night.\\\

Sora fell into the organization's trap again. Releasing Heartless into the worlds, letting Sora defeat them. It was all part of their plan. The released hearts were gathering in the dark and forming their very own Kingdom Hearts. Riku had to nudge them on the right path. Help Sora follow the trail Roxas had made possible into the World that Never Was. 

One by one the nobodies fell to Sora. They tried in vain to beat him, to take his heart and make use of his shell again. Riku made his move. He saved Kairi from their dungeons and the three were reunited once again, but Riku still had the mask of Ansem. He wouldn't tell Sora who he really was, his shame wouldn't bear it. 

“I'm no-one, just a castaway from the darkness.” 

_//So look in my eyes, Clear as the skies.  
You can see right through me. Your heart bleeds through me_\\\ 

Sora held his hand tightly and fell to his knees. It felt strange to look down on the brunette like this, through Ansem's eyes. Strange, but good. 

“Riku...Riku's here. I looked for you. I looked everywhere for you.” 

Riku choked. The raw emotion and heartache in Sora's eyes. It was something he'd been longing to see, to see Sora care so much about him. But now that he had it, he hated it. He never wanted to see Sora so heartbroken again. 

“Come on Sora, pull it together.” 

_//No matter where you are, I won't leave you behind.  
We'll make it out alive! We'll make it out alive!_\\\ 

Xemnas faded away into the nothingness he'd been born from. His remaining Dusks rose to avenge him. Sora and Riku were already exhausted, but they had no time to rest. Back in his own body again, cut off from the powers darkness had granted him, here on the edge of the abyss once more, Riku was running out of strength. 

When the battle was over, he couldn't stand. They were both bruised and and nearly broken, but Sora still pulled his him up over his shoulder and helped him walk. 

At the edge of the dark margin, the sea between worlds. Riku spoke to Sora as a friend for the first time in a countless days. Their hearts were one again, their destines joined again. 

“If the world is made up of light and darkness, then we'll be the darkness.” 

“Yeah, the world of light. It's safe now. It's got Kairi and the King and the others to look after it now.” 

And Riku smiled, he could endure this banishment if Sora was here with him. He looked forward to it even. Just the two of them, the only people in this shadowy world of endless night. He rested his head on Sora's shoulder; yeah, this would be just fine. 

_//Every time you walk away, I lose the one I need to save.  
I just paint it black. Like starting over_\\\ 

But it was not to be, the door to light opened for them. Sora, clueless as he always was, didn't know why or how. Riku knew. It was Kairi, her and Sora's hearts were connected and could bridge the gap between the worlds. Connected in a way his and Riku's hearts never would be. 

They entered the sleeping worlds, pursing the mark of mastery. They went in together, just the two of them, and were torn apart in a moment. 

“Sora!” 

Traverse Town split in twain, the boys connected by sight but not by touch. Each world they went to, they could feel each other's presence. Riku saved Sora, Sora aided Riku. But they were never together. 

Riku felt his dark powers return, but gone was the taint they once held. In this world the dark was gentle, and the same feeling he'd felt at the margin. The Heartless really were animals, scared and confused in a world of blinding light. 

_//Every time I lose a fight, And I'm dying to be right.  
I just paint it black. So you remember:_\\\ 

“But somehow you've learned to trap darkness in your heart. That makes you useless to us.” 

Xehanort told him what they planed, told him all there was to know. His overconfidence telling him Riku was too late to stop them. The boy would prove them wrong if it cost him everything again. 

Sora was in danger, plunged into darkness to be their new vessel. Riku had dived into his friend's dreams on instinct, he would keep him safe. No matter what. 

He beat back the nightmare that held Sora, he saved his heart, and was named master. As the stranger on the beach had promised him so long ago. 

_//Even on our final day, When you cannot find your way  
I just paint it black. Like starting over_\\\ 

Riku wouldn't learn until much later what happened. About the journey Sora took to the final world, to the very edge of death. All to save his friends. To save him. It was enough to make him weep. 

They would stop Xehanort, and free Kingdom Hearts, the real one this time. Sora held the true Keyblade now, the X-blade, he could remake the world if he wanted. 

_//This won't last forever, It's just another night._\\\ 

But that wasn't Sora. Riku might have, he wanted to. He watched Sora run after Kairi yet again, losing everything to have her back. 

"My journey began the day I lost her, and every time I found her, she was snatched away again." 

Riku felt the same way.

How badly he wanted Sora to love him like he loved her.

_//It's just another night, It's just another night _\\\ 


End file.
